Door for railway cars



April 23, 1940. F QYEN DOOR FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed March l5, 195'/ S Sheets-Sheet l 50 FIC-3.5-

fnuenor: H/v/v OYEN, QM?

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April 23, 1940.

April 23, 1940. F OYEN DOOR FOR RAILWAY GARS Filed March l5, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 F'Il3-12- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DOOR FOR. RAILWAY CARS Finn Oyen, Dormont, Pa., assignor to Railroad Research Bureau, a corporation of New Jersey Application March 15, 1937, Serial No. 131,098

4 Claims. (Cl. 18S-46) 5 the loading and unloading of the lading. car constructed according to by invention, where- 5 Such a door is hung by hangers at its upper in edge to the side plate of the car or is supported Figure 2 is a section on line II--II of Figure l, by brackets at its bottom edge to the side sill and of the car. Rollers or other anti-friction means Figure 3 iS a SSCOII OI! line III-III Of Fgare generally used in such hangers or brackets. 1116 1- 10 Sometimes a lower track is used and rollers are Figllfli 4 ISI arnenlfaged velrtical section of mounted in the lower edge of the door. Per 0 me 0 lgue When in closed position the side door is a part Figure is an enlarged hefizontel Section 0f of the retaining wall and as such must retain part. 0f line II-II 0f Figure 1- l the load and must also withstand the impact of Pleure 5 s hOWS. a modled Constructlon 0f 15 i the lading due to rough track and rough train Flglres 15 lncluslve' operation. These forces tend to bulge the door Flgures 7 8 and 9 Show a mqdlcapwn of the and if it deilects it binds in the associated parts glallefslreet of the door and remforcmg means on the car, making it very difficult to open.

A side door is subject to severe impacts by be- Flgures' lo 11 and lztshow a method of .form' 20 ing closed quickly and forcibly, which impacts ing :Lau fsheet of hg door dtaocmtmg are theoretically distributed along its entire front fst v1? fe rame hmll erts so d a y mu' edge by a stop on the car body. However, if dlry lem Ome eac o er o pro uae a s ronger the door (or car) isl not square the impacts are l 5 received either on the top or bottom corner of lnigfu]tlgolfrsgge? zlllgg, 25 the door. These doors aie also Jambed into the 3 front 4 and rear 5 frame members of T Sec back Stop upon bemg Opened' It frfequently hap' tion with each member comprising a base 6 and pens that the cars are moved with the doors a Stem 1 projecting normally from the middle o not fastened so that they are slammed back and of the base to form an inwardly projecting base 30 forth. agamst the front and back Stops re flange 8, and an outwardly projecting base flange spectlvelyg by the mol/ emert of the tram' When 9. The frame members are arranged to form a the door 1s closed its lnertia causes a severe tug rectangular frame with the bases 5 of the T 0r pull upon the fastemflg means causmg a Se' members in substantially the same plane. The

vere local stress at this point: These several Stems are bent to form Cef-langes with the 35 forces distort the door so that 1t does not prop flanges of the from; and rear Stems proerly t the weather proofing means which are jectng inwarcuy and the ref-langes |2 |3 of provided on the car, resultmg in a leaky car and the upper and lower members projecting dgwn.. damage claims. A door must also prevent sparks Wardly to Shed Water,

o from the locomotive entering the car. There- The outwardly projecting flanges 9 of the 40 fore, a door must be capable of preserving its recbases 6 engage parts on the car body to form tangularity. weatherproong means. For instance the One of the objects of the invention is to proflanges of the front member 4 engage the front vide a door for a railway car, comprising a recm weatherproong strip I6 on the front door post tangular metallic frame having the component I1. The flange of the rear member 5 is bent to 45 members thereof formed, associated and secured engage the weatherproong strip I8 on the back together to provide a very strong and very light door post. The flange of the top member 2 is weight frame to resist the stress tending to disoverlapped by the hood 2B which is usually setort or Warp the door and to attach a relatively cured to the side plate of the car, and the guide thin metallic Wall sheet to such a frame to form 2| holds the hood 2i! and flange 9 in proper re- 50 a retaining wall and at the same time to lationship. The flange 9 on the lower member strengthen the frame. 32usually helps retain a roller housing in place;

Another object is to deform the wall sheet of 2 is a roller track. the door so that the deformed portion reinforces The bases 6 and the stems 'I of the members the wall sheet and also provides means to at- 2, 3, 4 and 5 are preferably mitered and rigidly 55 This invention relates to railway freight cars and more particularly to side doors therefor, which move horizontally parallel to the car to close openings in the side walls of such cars for tach the Wall sheet to the frame rnembers so that they mutually reinforce each other.

In the drawings:

Figures 1, 2 and 3 s-how a door for a railway secured together at the corners of the door, preferably by welding, to form a rigid continuous rectangular frame. The reflanges I0, II, I2 and I3, whether preformed or bent from the stems are also rigidly secured together at the corners of the door.

Note that the four frame members 2, 3, 4 and 5 are arranged and secured together to form a continuous U-section around the entire perimeter of the door which provides an exceedingly strong structure as the bases 6 form the compression members while the reflanges I0, I I, I2 and I3 form the tension members and the stems 'l form the webs of this continuous beam.

Such a construction resists warping and holds the door structure in a single plane so that the outwardly projecting flanges 9 may cooperate with the several car parts I6, I8, 28 to provide weather-proofing and sparkprooflng means, for example of the type disclosed and claimed in my copending application Serial Number 267,673, filed April 13, 1939. Such a construction, particularly in combination with the stiffeners hereinafter described, is very strong to resist horizontal thrusts such as are caused by a shifting or wedging lading. And, thirdly, such. a construction tends to maintain the rectangularity of the door against its impact against the front and rear door stops which tend to knock the door out of square.

The wall sheet 30 extends between and is secured to the inwardly projecting anges 8 of the lower, upper, front and rear frame members preferably by welding. 'I'he wall sheet preferably comprises an upper 3| and a lower 32 sheet, with the upper margin of the lower sheet 32 formed with an L-shaped flange 33 and the lower margin of the upper sheet 3| formed with an L-shaped flange 34 overlapping and secured to the L-shaped flange of the lower sheet to form a stiffening and reinforcing member of box girder construction. The L-shaped flanges preferably underlie (see Figure 5) and are secured to the reflanges |8--I I of the front and' rear frame members, thereby forming the box girder beams into restrained beams to resist horizontal thrusts of a shifting lading. 'Ihe main portion 36-31 of the upper and lower sheets are in one plane and secured to the bases 6 of the front and rear frame members while the flanges 39 and 40 of the L-shapeol flanges are in a plane spaced apart therefrom. 'I'he flanges are connected to the main portions by the webs 4I-42. The webs 4 |-42 are preferably welded to the stems l. These stiifening members also prevent the front and rear frame members from twisting out of position.

Each of the frame members is preferably reinforced by a diagonally positioned sheet or part 46 with one edge welded to the wall sheet 30 and the other edge welded to the stem 1 of the member. These reinforcing parts 46 ar also preferably mitered. and secured together at the corners ofthe door. These reinforcing parts 46 are also preferably welded tothe webs 4| and 42 of the L-shaped flanges on the wall sheets so as to stiffen the entire structure against distortion. These parts also prevent the frame members twisting or buckling.

Figure 6 shows a modification wherein the refianges 50-5I project outwardly from the door. The outwardly projecting flange 52 and the reilange 50 form a groove which is engaged by the piece 53 secured to the angle 54 fastened to the door post 55. Water entering the crack 56 is directed downwardly in the flue 51 to the outside of the car. In other words, the arrangement forms a baille against rain or sparks.

Figures 7, 8 andy 9 show a modification wherein an angular member 80 (or members) is used as a horizontal stiffener with the edge of the sloping (horizontal) arm V8| welded, as at 82, to the wall sheet 84 and also preferably to the bases (through the wall sheet) and with the vertically positioned arm 83 underlying the reflanges I0-I I and secured thereto to form a restrained beam. In this arrangement the vertical arm 83 forms the tension member and the wall sheet 84 forms the compression member of the beam with the horizontal arm 8|, forming the web thereof.

In these figures, 81 is the side plate; 88 the side sill; 89 the floor; 90 the threshold; 9| the door roller track; 92 the door post; 93 the front weatherstrip; 94 the back weatherstrip; and 95 the side sheathing.

Figures 10, 11 and 12 show a modification wherein the wall sheet |00 extends between the bases of the frame members 2, 3, 4 and 5 and is secured thereto adjacent the margins thereof and then bent to form substantially normal flanges |0I with the outer edges of the flanges |0| welded to the edges of the reflanges I0, II, I2 and I3 to form box constructions. The substantially normal flanges IUI at the top, bottom and vertical sides are preferably welded together at the corners of the door to form a continuous box construction around the perimeter of the door. These figures show a stiffener |03 of Z formation` having a vertical arm |04 secured to the wall sheet |00, a vertical arm |05 outwardly disposed therefrom anda web |06 connecting the arms. These stiffeners extend between the normal flanges |9| of the wall sheets and the outer vertical arms are preferably in alignment with the reflanges and welded thereto as shown in Figure 12.

If desirable, the positions of the wall sheets and stiffeners may be reversed; that is, the wall sheets may be secured to the reflanges I0, II, I2 and I3 and the stifeners (33, 34 or 80 or |03) positioned on the inside thereof. Such an arrangement would provide a door with a smooth exterior surface.

While I have shown and described certain embodiments of the present invention, it will be seen that I do not wish to be limited exactly thereto, since Various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A rectangular door for a railway car comprising upper, lower, front and rear structural steel frame members of T-section, each member including a base and a stem projecting normally therefrom and outwardly with respect to the railway car, the stem of each member being provided with a reange extending at substantial right-angles thereto, the respective bases, stems and reflanges being rigidly secured together at the corners of the door to form a rigidl frame having substantially equal strength at said corners, and a wall sheet extending between and secured to said members.

2. A rectangular door for a railway car comprising upper, lower, front and rear structural steel frame members of T-section, each member including a base and a stern projecting normally therefrom and outwardly with respect to the railway car, the stem of each member being provided with a reflange extending at substantial rightangles thereto, and a sheet extending between and secured to said members, each of said members being reinforced by a diagonal sheet rigidly secured to the base and stem thereof, the respective bases, stems and reflanges and diagonal sheets being rigidly secured together at the corners of the door to form a rigid frame having substantially equal strength at said corners.

3. A rectangular door for a railway car comprising upper, lower, front and rear structural steel frame members of T-section, each member including a base and a stern projecting normally therefrom and outwardly with respect to the railway car, the stem of each member being provided with a reflange extending at substantial right-angles thereto, and an upper and a lower wall sheet extending between and secured to the bases of all four members, the upper margin of the lower sheet formed with an L-shaped flange and the lower margin of the upper sheet formed with an L-shaped ange overlapping and secured to the L-shapedl flange of the lower sheet, the saidy L-shaped ange overlapping and secured to the L-shaped flange of the lower sheet, the said L-shaped flanges underlapping and secured to the relanges of the front and rear frame members, each of said members being reinforced by a diagonal sheet rigidly secured to the base and stern thereof, the respective bases, stems, reanges and diagonal sheets being rigidly Secured together at the corners: of the door to form a rigid frame having substantially equal strength at said corners.

4. A rectangular door for a railway car comprising upper, lower, front and rear structural steel frame members of T-section, each member including a base and a stem projecting normally therefrom and outwardly with respect to the railway car, the'stem of each member being provided with a reflange extending at substantial right-angles thereto, and a sheet extending between and' secured to said members, each of said members being reinforced by an angular sheet rigidly secured to the base and refiange thereof, the respective bases, stems, reanges and angular sheets being rigidly secured together at the corners of the door to form a rigid frame having substantially equal strength at said corners.

FINN OYEN. 

